A lithographic apparatus is a machine that applies a desired pattern onto a substrate, usually onto a target portion of the substrate. A lithographic apparatus can be used, for example, in the manufacture of integrated circuits (ICs). In that instance, a patterning device, which is alternatively referred to as a mask or a reticle, may be used to generate a circuit pattern to be formed on an individual layer of the IC. This pattern can be transferred onto a target portion (e.g. including part of one or several dies) on a substrate (e.g. a silicon wafer). Transfer of the pattern is typically via imaging onto a layer of radiation-sensitive material (resist) provided on the substrate. In general, a single substrate will contain a network of adjacent target portions that are successively patterned. Known lithographic apparatus include steppers, in which each target portion is irradiated by exposing an entire pattern onto the target portion at one time, and scanners, in which each target portion is irradiated by scanning the pattern through a radiation beam in a given direction (the “scanning” direction) while synchronously scanning the substrate parallel or anti-parallel to this direction. It is also possible to transfer the pattern from the patterning device to the substrate by imprinting the pattern onto the substrate.
Photolithography is widely recognized as one of the key steps in the manufacture of ICs and other devices and/or structures. At present, no alternative technology seems to provide the desired pattern architecture with similar accuracy, speed, and economic productivity. However, as the dimensions of features made using photolithography become smaller, photolithography is becoming one of the most, if not the most, critical gating factors for enabling miniature IC or other devices and/or structures to be manufactured on a truly massive scale.
A theoretical estimate of the limits of pattern printing can be given by the Rayleigh criterion for resolution as shown in equation (1):
                    CD        =                              k            1                    *                      λ                          NA              PS                                                          (        1        )            where λ is the wavelength of the radiation used, NAPS is the numerical aperture of the projection system used to print the pattern, k1 is a process dependent adjustment factor, also called the Rayleigh constant, and CD is the feature size (or critical dimension) of the printed feature.
It follows from equation (1) that reduction of the minimum printable size of features can be obtained in three ways: by shortening the exposure wavelength λ, by increasing the numerical aperture NAPS or by decreasing the value of k1.
In order to significantly shorten the exposure wavelength and, thus, reduce the minimum printable pitch, it has been proposed to use an extreme ultraviolet (EUV) radiation source. In contrast to conventional ultraviolet radiation sources, which are configured to output a radiation wavelength greater than or equal to about 157 nm, EUV radiation sources are configured to output a radiation wavelength of about 13 nm. Thus, EUV radiation sources may constitute a significant step toward achieving small features printing. Such radiation is termed extreme ultraviolet or soft x-ray, and possible sources include, for example, laser-produced plasma sources, discharge plasma sources, or synchrotron radiation from electron storage rings.